People believe that laws made by the government are meant to protect the people. However, many laws are made by the government simply because people believe they protect people, and not because the laws actually do protect people.
There are several laws that fit the before mentioned description, but today I'm going to talk about certain laws that are less controversial, traffic laws. Anyone who has ever gotten a ticket before has probably thought to themselves, "god I hate that law."
There have been studies that show that if there were no regulations of the speed limit the amount of accidents don't really change. Also, after the click it or ticket campaign that have been running forever people have been wearing there seatbelts more. That's a good thing right? Well yea, except studies have shown the more safety features that people use in the car the more careless they drive and the more accidents they get into. And anyone who read the new Freakonomics book knows even though we are tough on drunk drivers, more people die per mile walking home drunk then driving home druunk.
All of the before mentioned laws have had upsides, no doubt. However, they all have the factor of they make money for the government, and they all make people think they are safer, when the facts and figures don't necessarily match up.
If what I have said so far is not proof enough, the cameras at red lights are absolutely the worst example of laws that make us feel safe. Since those cameras have been instituted more crashes have occurred, because instead of making the safe decision of driving through the lights when they turn yellow people slam on the brakes and get rear-ended. So let's understand this law completely. If you do the right thing and go through the light you might get a ticket that you have to pay. The government punishes you for doing the right thing. If you do the wrong thing and slam on the brakes you get into an accident, which ultimately you end up paying for.
Feel safe now?
